RPI chief Ramdas Athawale meets CM, demands 2 seats

The Republican Party of India-Athawale (RPI-A) chief Ramdas Athawale met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday and demanded two seats from the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance.

The meeting between the two leaders went on for about an hour.

Following the meeting, a source close to Athawale told agencies, “The meeting was successful. Out of 48 seats in Maharashtra, RPI (Athawale) has demanded two seats. The party expects one seat each from BJP and Shiv Sena. Athawale will also be meeting Shiv Sena chief c to speak in this regard within a few days”.

It was also stated that Athawale has asked for Mumbai South Central Mumbai constituency from BJP.

On Saturday, it had become evident that the Republican Party of India (RPI) chief Ramdas Athawale is keen to put up one to two candidates in the coming Lok Sabha polls in Kerala and an equal number of candidates in Assam and Maharashtra in alliance with the BJP.

Athawale, who was in Mumbai to attend the conference of his party workers, said, “If the BJP fails to concede to our demand of one to two seats in Kerala, then the RPI will contest at least three to four seats in the state on its own.”

“I will also talk to BJP national president Amit Shah and would ask for one or two Lok Sabha seats in Assam and Maharashtra for my party candidates,” he told media persons here.

“I have talked to BJP’s Kerala unit president Sreedharan Pillai. There are 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala. If the BJP doesn’t leave a few seats for us, then we will contest on three-four seats on our own,” he said.

“But on the remaining 14-15 seats, we will support the BJP in Kerala,” he said.

RPI(A) is an ally of the BJP-led NDA from Maharashtra. A Rajya Sabha MP, Athawale is Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment.